It would be fair to say that when Paddy Ryder and Courtenay Dempsey ventured outside this morning they did have the foggiest idea what had hit them. Much of Melbourne was hidden by a very thick fog and apparently it was a new experience to both.

Essendon fitness coach John Quinn relayed the story as told by Courtenay Dempsey on the training track this morning.

""I looked out the window and there was white everywhere – I didn’t know what it was, I thought it might have been rain,"" Dempsey told Quinn. ""I thought I would go outside and take a look but I was standing there and I wasn’t getting wet – I didn’t know what it was. It didn’t smell like smoke.

""So I went and woke Paddy up and brought him outside to see if he had any idea what it was. He was half asleep but he wasn’t sure either.""

The fog issue was cleared up by Quinn, but he was hardly surprised by their confusion.

""One is from Geraldton and the other from Cairns so perhaps they had never seen fog before,"" Quinn laughed. ""Then again, Courtenay doesn’t let facts get in the way of a good story.""